Not Fit For Print

Vlogs are the thing

2006-01-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

In one vlog, or video web log, a guy runs into the fog.

In another, a guy chats to a camera placed in his refrigerator and then shuts the door.

One of the most successful vlogs, Rocketboom.com, features attractive Amanda Congdon, a 23-year-old actress who anchors a brief spoof-like newscast that highlights quirky stuff on the Internet and makes some left-leaning social commentary on the daily news.

Such brief video clips are the latest rage on the Internet and are beginning to generate cash for their creators by attracting advertising and sponsorships.

First came Web cameras, then blogs - or online Web diaries - podcasting and now vlogs, which are taken with digital video cameras and posted on blogs.

"What I've seen over and over again is just how different a medium video on a blog is than television," said Michael Verdi, creator of Node 101, a nonprofit group that teaches video blogging at the Blue Star Arts Complex. "It keeps getting written about in terms of television."

But it isn't television.

"One of the things about television and film is that they are not participatory," Verdi said.

People like vlogs because they can interact with them, Verdi said. They can comment on them, e-mail the creators and send them to their friends.

For more on vlogs please visit Freevlog

Or Michael Verdi

Or Rocketboom

And one of the best blogs around is vlogmap. Here you can find all kinds of blogs near and far.

The secret vlog injection is also totally cool.

Blogging for the heck of it

2005-11-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Blogging continues to make headlines across the country. This latest article in Forbes declares blogs for businesses rule.

Visit "Attack of the Blogs''

Here's a nibble "Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Google and Yahoo.
Gregory Halpern knows how to hype. Shares of his publicly held company, Circle Group Holdings, quadrupled in price early last year amid reports that its new fat substitute, Z-Trim, was being tested by Nestlé. As the stock spurted from $2 to $8.50, Halpern's 35% stake in the company he founded rose to $90 million. He put out 56 press releases last year."

Enjoy! And here's a hint: Blogs are best after a breakfast taco.

Oh No! First Person Journalism!

2005-08-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

I really don't like reading first person tales, but apparently there is a demand for it. Today, I woke up, brushed my teeth, took a shower.......is the suspense killing you? I even got dressed.

Here's a site that allows you, too, to become a journalist.

"Dear Journalist:

Orato.com is a pioneering web site dedicated entirely to first person journalism. And we invite you to work with us to craft this new reporting style. Don't let your corner of the world go uncovered by the
media: register with Orato now and tell us your story - or help someone with a good story tell theirs.
Dear Journalist:

Orato.com is a pioneering web site dedicated entirely to first person journalism. And we invite you to work with us to craft this new reporting style. Don't let your corner of the world go uncovered by the
media: register with Orato now and tell us your story - or help someone with a good story tell theirs.
Since we launched the Contributors Registry earlier this summer, many experienced journalists and writers from around the world have signed up with Orato and they've pitched a host of compelling stories you'll see soon.''

What exactly is a Blog?

2005-08-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

Is a column a blog? Is a bulletin board of postings a blog? Does a blog look like a Web page? What exactly is a blog? The blog guys will tell you it is whatever they do better than newspapers. But some of the best bloggers are ex-newspaper hacks. So don't drink the cold coffee just yet. Here's a great article in the Washington Post trying to figure out just what this thing called BLOG is. And remember you can do your own experiment at home. Just blind fold a friend and let them touch an elephant - what kinds of responses do you get? That's what a blog is.

Romenesko has changed journalism for the better

2005-08-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

No better way to find out what's going on behind the closed doors of journalism than at Joe Romenesko's site.
Here's a really good story that talks about the impact Romenesko has had on newsroom decisions. It's really amazing to see this stuff actually change the way the industry operates. It's very eye-opening to even the people that work inside the sausage factory.

To find out more about the Romenesko effect, read this story in the Boston Phoenix paper.
Also, Romenesko runs another really cool site that has "news of the weird on it'' called Obscure Store that is definitely worth a visit

The need for editors. If anyone gets to the end of this rant could you drop me a note?

2005-08-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Media critic Jay Rosen knows everything about blogging on the Internet. He's the expert. Just like reporters are "experts'' on stuff they write about? Is anyone really an expert when it comes to journalism or blogs? The sources are the experts and we, as writers, just tap into their expertise, put it in a blender and then create a fancy slushy for readers to sip on.

But Rosen's stuff is unreadable. It goes on and on and on. He's truly from the old school. No one can possibly have enough time in their day to read all this stuff. If you are reading it, please let me know why. I just don't get it.

This is for Rosen's site: "Bloggers vs. Journalists is Over
"I have been an observer and critic of the American press for 19 years. In that stretch there has never been a time so unsettled. More is up for grabs than has ever been up for grabs since I started my watch."

Gee! Can I really advertise on your Blog? Really?

2005-08-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

News Flash - bloggers are selling ads on their blogs. The new media starting to look like the old media?

"Space, not soul, for sale
Advertise on Buzzmachine and reach influential bloggers and media moguls. How much for the soul Jeff Jarvis?

Blog on blogs

2005-08-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

So "retired'' media critics, now reinvented as "blog boys" are going around to the nation's newspapers as paid consultants to tell us how to reach out to our communities. And lo and behold, they are getting written up in newspaper "blogs'' for doing so. Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle writes about Jeff Jarvis of Buzzmachine.com visiting the paper today in his blog at http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/

So as long as we keep buying into the idea that these guys know more than we do - it's like a giant pyramid scheme that keeps their boat afloat.

Jeff Jarvis gets a broken Dell Computer and suddenly it's national news? Please folks are you guys living in the real world?

Becker Vineyards - wine to die for!!

2004-07-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Becker Vineyards - B&B in Fredericksburg. Highly recommend it to any tourists travelling through the Texas Hill Country. It's cozy and the wine is divine. I recommend the Claret.